‘Use Nigerian movies to save local languages from extinction’

A film producer, Sidney Idiala, have called on film producers to shoot more films in local languages in order to help save Nigerian languages from extinction.
He said that this measure will help to sustain and revive Nigerian languages that were almost going into extinction.
“If we can do more of such films, our culture will be preserved and showcased to the western world. We can also produce films that reflect all these and story lines that will clearly display our age-long cultural identity to the world.
“It is said that our indigenous languages are at the verge of extinction and this is very dangerous for our identity as Nigerians. Most of our children who are born and bred here in Nigeria cannot speak their mother tongue, yet we are using movies produced in English language to educate and entertain them.
“You cannot tell people their own story using a foreign language, so this is why it is very important we tell the Nigerian story using Nigerian languages. It is very proper to tell Queen Amina’s story in Hausa language and tell Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi’s story using Bini language and so on.
“So, if more films are produced in Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and other local dialects, the younger generation will be more interested in the languages and this will effectively sustain them.
“Film production is not just about money, but all about having positive impact on the society through your story and message.
“I really encourage all our filmmakers to do more of local language films and then subtitle them.
Idiala further said that our movies should reflect our true existence rather that mimicking the Western world. “Let us use more of our movies to promote what we have. An Indian will act dressed in his native attire, speaking his native language and we watch them.
“The Indians, Chinese, Philippines, all speak their languages in their films and then subtitle them, and we are buying them, so we can do the same thing.
“It will help us keep our story with the younger generation who are looking unto us” Idiala said.